The “crypto winter” has continued to take no prisoners. Among those being most affected is the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, which announced today that they have cut their workforce by 30%.
In a statement released on the platform’s blog, the move was cited as, “one of the hardest decisions at Kraken to date.” Ultimately, this led to the firing of 1,100 people, “in order to adapt to current market conditions.”
Kraken Responds to Crypto Winter
It has undeniably been a difficult year for crypto investors. A year-long bear market has taken its toll, only to be added onto by controversy that has marred what was once one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchange platforms on the planet, FTX.
These circumstances have led to unfortunate fates for various cryptocurrency platforms. Subsequently, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has been the next affected, as they have announced a 30% cut to their global workforce in a statement on their blog today.
“Over the past year years, hundreds of millions of new users entered the cryptocurrency space and millions of new clients put their trust in Kraken,” the statement said. A reality that forced the platform to “triple our workforce” to account for user growth.
The statement added, “Since the start of this year, macroeconomic and geopolitical factors have weighed on financial markets.” A reality that resulted in, “significantly lower trading volumes and few client sign-ups.” Despite their efforts to slow hiring, the mass layoffs were the platform’s last resort.
Conclusively, Kraken laid out its plan for handling departures. Moreover, the plan includes separation pay, performance bonuses, benefits, and various supports for those affected by the cuts.